The recess bell has rung on the NFL season, which means it’s time to play tag.

Tuesday started a two-week window during which teams can place a franchise tag on prospective free agents, keeping them from hitting the open market.

The league has yet to announce the exact cost of the tag for each position, which is calculated by determining the average of the top five salaries at each position.

The tag is almost universally hated by free agents; coveted by management since it allows them to keep a key player while they continue to negotiate a long term deal.

It can, however, be expensive. For instance, if the Eagles wanted to keep Sam Bradford — and there aren’t a lot of proven quarterbacks on the market — it would likely cost them $20 million in 2016.

Enough to give pause.

A pause is what is happening in Washington as well, where the team on Tuesday broke off contract talks with Kirk Cousins.

Who will be tagged will work itself out through the next two weeks. But there have been hints.

The Bills are eager to maintain control of tackle Cordy Glenn while the Jets are expected to tag Muhammad Wilkerson, who otherwise could become the top unrestricted free agent defensive end on the market.

Denver is in the process of making Von Miller the league’s highest-paid defensive player, but until that contract is worked out look for them to use the tag. Carolina is expected to tag cornerback Josh Norman.

Teams also use the tag when they reach an impasse in contract negotiations. That appears to be the case in Baltimore where Justin Tucker says his agent has been talking with the Ravens for “better part of a year” without a resolution.

It appears the Ravens will use the tag on Tucker if the two sides are unable to reach agreement by March 1.

“When you have a kicker like him, you don’t mess around with that,” said Joel Corry, a former agent who writes about the business of football for CBS Sports. “You don’t want someone to come in and poach him. Kickers don’t grow on trees. I’d think long and hard about letting him hit the open market.”

Tucker, 26, is the second most accurate kicker in NFL history. Stephen Gostkowski of the Patriots is the league’s highest-paid kicker in terms of average per year ($4.3 million) and guaranteed money ($10.1 million), followed by the Raiders’ Sebastian Janikowski ($3.775 million per year), the Bears’ Robbie Gould ($3.75 million), Minnesota’s Blair Walsh ($3.25 million) and the Cowboys’ Dan Bailey ($3.214 million).

The Eagles have been discussing what to do with their quarterback situation. The latest information from the Philadelphia News is that they will let him hit the open market.

Bradford has had uneven performances. However, if he doesn’t return, the front man for the Eagles would be Mark Sanchez. It’s unlikely they’ll want to start the season with Sanchez as No. 1. New coach Doug Pederson has some familiarity with Chiefs backup quarterback Chase Daniel, but the question remains, if not Bradford, then who?

It leaves a lot of teams with a lot of questions, and less than two weeks to figure it out.

RUCKER RUCKUS

Former wide receiver Reggie Rucker has been charged with wire fraud and making false statements to federal investigators.

Rucker, 68, is charged with using charitable donations intended for Hall of Famer Jim Brown’s Amer-I-Can Foundation to pay gambling debts and personal expenses. He is charged with withdrawing more than $500,000 from the charity’s accounts between 2011 and 2015.

WAITING IN THE WINGS

When he was young, Josh McCown threw passes all day long.

Now that he’ll be 37 before next season, he just longs to throw passes when he can. He has become sort of a football Maytag repairman.

It appears the Browns will keep his as an insurance policy, despite plans to draft a quarterback with the second pick in the draft.

McCown says he’ll love to start every game but he’d be equally pleased to return as a player-coach to a young quarterback.

“My expectation is to come into work and be available and be ready to do whatever’s asked of me,” he told ProFootballTalk.com Tuesday. “If that’s to bring along a draft pick and to start until that guy’s ready, then I’m willing to do that. If that’s to go the full 16, I’m excited about doing that. Whatever my role is, I’m all in. I just want to help.”

Well, that, and collect a cool $10 million over the next two seasons.

CASHING IN

According to multiple reports, commissioner Roger Goodell made $34.1 million last year, pushing his nine-year compensation to $180.5 million.

A loser in the courts, booed in public, harangued by the players and agents, with all that padding in his wallet its little wonder he doesn’t mind continually getting smacked in the butt.

Loved by owners who employ him, this makes Goodell the sports world’s most expensive punching bag.

QUICK HITS

Lions cornerback cornerback Rashean Mathis is retiring after 13 NFL seasons ... The Packers and Colts will kick off the exhibition season with the Aug. 7 Hall of Fame game in Canton, Ohio ... The Giants coaching staff under Ben McAdoo will look much like the one under Tom Coughlin, whom he replaced as head coach. Twelve coaches, including offensive co-ordinator Mike Sullivan, defensive co-ordinator Steve Spagnuolo and special teams co-ordinator Tom Quinn will return ... Adidas will pay anyone who uses their footwear $1 million if they can beat the all-time Scouting Combine record of 4.24 seconds, set by Chris Johnson in 2008 ... Carolina defensive end Wes Horton, suspended four games late last season for violating the league’s substance abuse policy and then moved to the practice roster gets another chance, signing a one-year deal ... Steelers believe James Harrison will return for a 14th season.